Theater Minor at USC?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Southern California
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<p>Hi! I was hoping for some information from current USC students about the minors available in theater at USC. I'm a rising senior in high school planning on majoring in either Business or Mechanical Engineering. However, I love acting and want to continue to do that in college and hopefully later on (I would major in Theatre, but I know that few make it in acting and I want to make a good salary). So ideally, I would major in one of these and also do one the minors offered by USC's School of Dramatic Arts. </p>

<p>However, I'm having a tough time determining which one is the most performance based, ideally focusing on TV/film acting. Each one essentially says the same thing ("In this minor, you will explore this exciting field") and I want to make sure that I'll be able to minor in something that will help me grow as an actor. Advice would be much appreciated!</p>

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<p>The details of course requirements are found here [USC</a> Theatre: Degree Requirements: Minor Programs | USC Catalogue](<a href=“http://www.usc.edu/dept/publications/cat2011/schools/theatre/requirements_minors.html]USC”>http://www.usc.edu/dept/publications/cat2011/schools/theatre/requirements_minors.html)</p>

<p>As you can tell, the minor in Theatre requires 1 acting class, 1 tech class and 2 theatre history classes, but then lets you select 14 units in any upper division courses of your choice. You can make them all performance training if you wish.</p>

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<p>@madbean Thanks! That website is really helpful. </p>

<p>I would appreciate any input on the following:</p>

<p>Major: Business Admin
Minor: Theatre
2nd Minor: East Asian Languages (Korean)</p>

<p>Would this leave me room to take other classes that interested me, or would it take up all of my time?</p>

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<p>It would be difficult to even complete the two minors and major in 4 years. Remember that you also must complete the USC core classes and writing requirements as well. Obviously this depends on you and how many units you can successfully complete, but it still looks very tight on paper.</p>

<p>According to the USC catalogue, business majors have 32 free units to use on minors, extra interests. The Theater minor is 24 units and the East Asian says that it requires 2 years of language plus 16 units of upper division classes. </p>

<p>You can view major and minor requirements as well as the USC core requirements in the USC catalogue.</p>

<p>[The</a> Schools | USC Catalogue](<a href=“http://www.usc.edu/dept/publications/cat2012/schools/]The”>http://www.usc.edu/dept/publications/cat2012/schools/)</p>

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<p>One thing to keep in mind about minoring in theatre is that if you want to study acting, you will want to/need to take THTR 252a & b, two two-unit classes. They are not upper-division, but the are the pre-reqs for 352ab, which is the prereq for 452ab. If you decide to take the -52 acting classes all the way through, that will account for 12 of your 14 upper-division THTR electives. The School of Theatre/Dramatic Arts also offers other upper-division acting classes more geared toward film/TV/commercial acting (the -52 classes are more about acting for the stage, though 252 is intended to give you the groundwork from which you can branch out into screen acting. I don’t know about 352 or 452, as I haven’t taken them yet).</p>

<p>Other upper-division acting classes include
354: Acting Shakespeare, 2 units
475: Acting on Camera: The Collaborative Process, 4 units (tough class to get into, esp. for females)
479: Solo Performance, 4 units
480ab: Performance for camera, 2 units each
484: Acting in Television Commercials, 2 units
495: Experimental Theatre Workshop, 4 units
Many of these classes require departmental clearance, which is usually a breeze for theatre majors. I don’t think it would be much more difficult to obtain for theatre minors, unless there’s a particularly high level of demand for a class.</p>

<p>Feel free to browse through the Schedule of Classes to see what’s being offered each semester: [USC</a> Schedule of Classes: Select a Term](<a href=“http://web-app.usc.edu/soc/]USC”>USC Schedule of Classes)</p>

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<p>For whatever it’s worth, I’m a double minor: the 52-unit theatre major, the 27-unit musical theatre minor, and the 20-unit cinematic arts minor. There’s only one class that overlaps between my major & one of my minors, despite them all sounding interconnected. I’m in 18 units each semester, maintaining a pretty high GPA, and I occasionally have an extra two units to take a non-required class (e.g. THTR 252ab are not required classes for my major, they are officially considered electives, even though I needed them as prerequisites to get into 352a, which does count towards my major).</p>

<p>It’s possible to double-minor, depending on the minor and your commitment to it.</p>

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<p>I’m interested in minoring in theatre as well. Does anyone know how difficult this would be if I pledged to a fraternity or is this even possible? I’m an international relations major.</p>

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<p>Thank you so much for all that information! That makes it a lot easier for me to figure things out :)</p>

<p>@wisdomsomehow, I have a quick question if you don’t mind my asking. From your major/minors I’m guessing your involved in the plays at USC. Do you find that these take up more/less time than high school plays? And with all the units you’re taking, does being in a play make your life really stressful? (i.e. having no social life and never being able to just sit down and relax for a while)</p>

<p>I guess that was two questions. But I would really appreciate some input!</p>

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<p>I know plenty of Greeks who are also theatre majors. I don’t know that many theater minors in general, so I can’t really speak to that, but I think you should be fine, calej93. You can’t be in a school-sponsored show your first semester at USC, so if that’s your pledge semester, you’re fine. As a theatre minor, you have to take one semester of THTR 130, Intro to Theatrical Production. This means that the semester you take the class, you will either crew a show or work in the scene shop/costume shop. The shop track is more academically difficult, but I found it more enjoyable, which the crew track is easier, but there’s an intense time commitment to it for a week and a half, while you’re crewing. So I wouldn’t recommend crewing your pledge semester, but other than that, I don’t see there being much of a problem with joining a fraternity and doing the theatre minor. </p>

<p>I actually haven’t been in an official show yet, Tangie, but I will be in one this semester (a nice thing about THTR 495, you know the semester before that you’ll be in a show)! I have crewed a show, so I’ve been a part of the madness of the last week and a half of the process, though. </p>

<p>As with high school, it’s all about how you manage your time, especially given the size of your role and the nature of your show. For school productions, you need to be available from 6pm or 7pm to midnight every day, and then have availability on weekends as need be for rehearsal. That does not mean you will be called in every day for all those hours, you might only need to come into rehearsal twice a week for the first few weeks, but you should be available. As with crewing a show, the show will take over your life for the two weeks before and during it, so just clear out your schedule for that time period. Academically, I haven’t found the theatre major to be difficult, though it is certainly a challenge creatively (but the best kind of challenge!). Also, keep in mind that being in a school show is a two-unit class, THTR 397 I believe. So being in a school show does affect the units you’re taking. (There are also student productions, I haven’t been involved with any, so I can’t speak to how they work time-wise, but I’d imagine it’s similar to school shows)</p>

<p>Theatre students are rarely known for their lack of a social life. We’re some of the most gregarious people I know! From what I’ve observed so far, USC doesn’t really breed snobby theatre kids. The kinds of people who are attracted to USC, accepted to USC, and choose to attend USC are all pretty welcoming and friendly. When you’re in a show, that kind of becomes your social life. And since you were admitted to USC, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that you’re used to working your butt off when you need to. It’s all about finding the little releases in life—and southern California is kind of the best place ever to find those releases! There’s so much you can do with a day off in the LA area, or even with a few free hours. I mean, the beach and Disneyland are an hour away or less!</p>

<p>Regarding the intimidating nature of “units,” let me show you how my schedule for last semester and this semester breaks down.
Last semester (17 units—I did 19 in Fall 2011, so it averages to 18)
4 units: Genre study of action movies. Workload: write two 6-8 page academic papers, study for the midterm and final.
3 units: Musical Theatre Audition. Workload: write a review of a show, learn a lot of songs.
2 units: Beginning Jazz Dance. Workload: write a review of a show, choreograph two pieces
2 units: Intermediate acting I. Workload: become immersed in the world of the story I’m telling. Write two self-reflexive papers.
2 units: Musical Theatre Workshop. Workload: learn and work on performing songs.
2 units: Private voice. Workload: work on songs. Turn in two reviews of shows.
2 units: Beginning Piano. Workload: practice playing piano.
22 hours of class a week.</p>

<p>This semester, 18 units (I don’t know about the workload yet, since it hasn’t started):
4 units: WRIT 340. Required writing class for all USC students. I’m taking the one for visual & performing arts.
4 units: Directing
4 units: Experimentals. Being in a show, which we will mostly rehearse in class.
2 units: Intermediate Acting II
2 units: Beginning Modern Dance
2 units: Intro to screenwriting.
That adds up to 23 hours a week in class, plus additional rehearsals.</p>

<p>So not a huge academic workload there, even though it’s a lot of classes and a lot of units. And a lot of the work overlaps, especially in singing (though that’s not so relevant to a non-musical theatre minor). Keep in mind that I did have eight finals last semester, though, while most of my friends had half that—or fewer. There’s also an issue of time: I was physically in class for 22 hours a week (and these classes are small enough that you can’t skip them, though I don’t know why you’d want to), while for most students, they’re in class for as many hours as units they’re taking (e.g. 18 hours of class for 18 units or whatever), or fewer. One of my good friends who is a Poly Sci/IR double major is taking 18 units this fall, and is only physically in class for 16 hours—but she’ll have a lot more papers to write than I will.</p>

<p>Sorry if I gave you more information than you were looking for—but better too much than too little, I figure.</p>